Marvel Civil War: Why Retrospectives Aren’t More Revolutionary

So here I am watching a video and going through reviews and it all says Marvel’s Civil War is one of the worst things to happen to the Marvel Comics universe. At its core, it was a series of petty publicity stunts to propel Marvel’s modern comics into mainstream news. If you think I’m chasing conspiracies; let me tell you what entertainment values more than money, engagement. In more recent times, people have been reexamining the ideologies behind the event more than itself. You could say it’s inspired by the words of Stan Lee in how Marvel reflects stories from the real world. But as a result, people are missing what it actually was.

Welcome to Dude, What the Heck?! a segment that delves into why opinions are divided.

The Reaction Civil War

The event writer, Mark Millar, originally planned Marvel Civil War as an Ultimate Universe event; or an X-Men title depending on the source. Why did it change? Money! It’s something Marvel does with its most successful writers to hype up crossover events. It increases a writer’s portfolio and Marvel puts in (relatively) better marketing for creatives to profit. Sure some things changed like Captain America acting more like his Ultimate self, but the biggest was probably trying to meme the event.

Marvel’s In-House Civil War

This is arguably best seen in how Marvel defines the Civil War catalyst, the Superhero Registration Act; they didn’t. They left it entirely up to interpretation, even to their creatives. But instead of creative license, Millar and J. Michael Straczynski were leading a civil war in the House of Ideas. It’s hard not to feel like this was by design as Marvel’s only real goal was profiting from the discourse.

Money Wins The Americana War

There’s nothing more American than further democratizing a product. Despite the event being hated by both fans and critics, the general public ate the whole thing up; it even advertises on Comedy Central’s Colbert Report. Reading through the praises and feedback on the Goodreads page, it is obvious that people like the concept of Civil War more than the story it is attached to.

Funnily enough, Civil War was ahead of its time in marketing. Remember the Mike & Ike breakup or Twix Left and Right? In more recent times people are rechecking the event in reaction to political events. Apparently Tony Stark really is the hero and Captain America was in the wrong… to some writers.

Marvel Civil War Reinterpretation

In recent times, popular talks about Marvel’s Civil War is in reaction to real world events. On a few comic op–ed‘s I found, people seem to prefer Iron Man’s pro-Registration side as in the right. Some say it’s because holding law enforcers accountable is the right way to go; this is especially in light of police brutality and Australia’s gun banning. One comic even presents the Iron Man stand-in as a lesser evil and the Captain America pastiche as a shameless chauvinist. But they all agree with anti–Registration that it was terribly executed.

I can name a few flaws in those pro-Registration arguments. If superheroes are supposed to be held accountable, why do people say Iron Man shouldn’t feel guilty for killing a black man? It’s safe to say the President pardoned this too. Because you know, cops handle very similar situations in the line of duty? Wait, aren’t modern critics saying they should avoid police brutality? As for me, I already explain the dangers of how registrations can turn into persecutions; that’s what the X-Men fought against for years. Better yet, here’s a quote I think people oughta hear:

These no-nonsense solutions of yours, just don’t hold water in a complex world of jet-powered apes and time travel.

Superman, JLA Classified by Grant Morrison

Memes Trump Quality

This is why I rewrote this post; people know that Civil War is garbage, they know it didn’t matter in the long run. But after all of the events that follow its formula, they don’t even care. Comic book event fatigue burned out all investment fans have in quality retrospective. The only reason anyone talks about anything related to this event is ideological clout. They’re doing the same thing as Marvel, throwing around pointless debates for the sake of publicity. Books have already been made about their reactions, so why not any clickbait?

In reality everybody lost the Marvel Civil War, ironically that was Millar’s original ending for the event. Even worse, a better written event in the form of Annihilation takes place in the background while Civil War gets all the attention.

At the very least, Captain America: Civil War fixes the flaws of the event by showing how stupid both sides are acting. Everybody’s following a leader but they’re following their own opinions and staying in character. The only flaws come in the form of Helmut (Baron) Zemo.

Thanks for coming to the end remember to like, share, comment, and look between the panels.